


Fugitive Motel

by Dan_Francisco



Series: Kill/Capture [2]
Category: Call of Duty (Video Games), Overwatch (Video Game), Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern (Overwatch), Canon Rewrite, Drama, Gen, Secret Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-11
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:14:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21757381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dan_Francisco/pseuds/Dan_Francisco
Summary: Codename “Shrike” is first on Price and Tracer’s list of suspected former agents to hunt down. The team assigned to an unknown person operating in Egypt consists of handpicked, highly-skilled operatives from Rainbow including a celebrated Egyptian officer, Morocco’s premier military academy commandant, and an FBI agent with ties to the Middle East. As the investigation heads down confusing twists and turns, the question remains: Who is Shrike?
Series: Kill/Capture [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568098
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. A Tree Begins With a Seed

Price sighed as he flipped through the dossier. The information within it was fleeting, lacking almost everything he expected from a formal document like this. Half of the fields were speculation at best, with rumors filling in the blanks. All that he really _knew_ about this “Shrike” was that they were an excellent sniper, and whatever Talon presence had been built up in Egypt was being chipped away day by day. Whoever this person was, they were an all-star.

The team for this one was about as haphazard as could be. Price had only ever worked with Lena “Tracer” Oxton beforehand, and even then it was just as a pilot and a one-off field op that he considered her adequate at best at. Fareeha “Pharah” Amari was an unknown, judging by her appearance, but the hard-set face she wore told Price she had lived through a lot and was nowhere near done.

But far more interesting to Price were the two other Rainbow operatives present – Commandant Jalal El Fassi, aka “Kaid,” and Eliza Cohen, aka “Ashe.” He hadn’t expected the FBI to take an interest in tracking down Shrike, but Price knew full well that Kaid had a wealth of experience operating in this area. North Africa was his domain, and even though Egypt was technically outside his area of expertise, desert warfare was desert warfare no matter if it was near the Nile or in the middle of the Sahara.

“Right,” Price said, clearing his throat. “Kaid, I expect you’ll lead this, since we _are_ in your backyard here. What’s your take on this?”

The old soldier nodded, standing up to head to the top of the room where a map of Egypt was laid out, showing known places Shrike had operated. “One thing is for certain. Whoever Shrike is, they are an excellent operator. It takes talent and skill to avoid the Egyptian police and military for three years.”

“I have tracked Shrike’s movement as well,” Pharah announced. “They primarily work against Talon, killing higher-up figures that we have been mostly unaware of.”

“What about the ones you _are_ aware of?” Price asked.

“Shrike usually gets to them before we do. I will not lie to you, Captain, Talon has a dark hold on Egypt. I’ve fought my whole life to make sure that corruption is cleansed, but I am only one woman.”

Kaid nodded, holding a wrinkled, sun-stained hand out to Pharah to slow her down. “It is not your fault, child. Talon has infiltrated nearly every nation in some form.”

“I’m hearing a lot of talk about what Shrike’s _done,_ but not a lot about what we _know,”_ Ash chimed in. “We should go on a fact-finding mission, talk to the locals and fill in some of these blanks. Shrike has a weapon, they need to get their ammo from _somewhere._ They need a place to stay, food and water. Basic things.”

“Right, uh, I can get you guys to Egypt,” Tracer said, her first words since the briefing started. “Uh, maybe do some recon passes if we want to go romping around the desert. Not much else than that, though.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Price said. “Orders are capture, kill if Shrike resists. Anyone have a problem with that?”

Price looked out to the room, seeing only Tracer hesitate to shake her head. He expected it from her – she had always been a bit shaky with wetwork like this. Some days, her positive outlook helped. Other days like this, when there was a threat to be taken care of, it hurt.

“We should plan this trip to Egypt carefully,” Kaid advised. “As Lieutenant Amari pointed out, Talon has a strong hold over Egypt. If we are not cautious, our plans to find Shrike may be uncovered.”

“What’s it matter if Talon knows we’re after Shrike?” Tracer asked, blinking in confusion.

“If Talon knows, they may attempt to capture one of us to find out what we know at any point,” Kaid said. “If that happens, our efforts will be wasted before we start.”

Price nodded. “I agree. We can cut the briefing short here – whatever else we learn will have to be on the ground. Dismissed.” As chairs scooted back and the operators began to pick up their papers, Price pointed to Pharah. “Hold on. I want to talk to you.”

Confused, Pharah furrowed her brow, but stayed behind as the others left anyway. She preferred to stand up and collect her things, organizing the dossier and the notes she had written in Arabic together. Befitting of an Egyptian Army commando, her face betrayed no emotion or curiosity as to why Price had asked her to stay behind.

“I knew your mother back in the day,” Price said as he lit up a cigar. “She would have been proud of you, you know.”

Pharah blinked only once, maintaining an even gaze on Price. “You didn’t know my mother very well, then.”

“Debatable,” Price said. “They ever tell you what happened?”

“She died in Ukraine,” she replied, stone-faced. “That’s all I need to know.”

Price nodded, taking a puff on the cigar. “That’s fair. Well, regardless of what you think about how well I knew Ana, you seem to be a good soldier. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

“Captain Price, if it’s alright with you, I would rather focus on finding Shrike than talking about my mother.”

“Also fair,” Price said. “Might as well rejoin the team. We’ve got some work to do.”

* * *

_October 12 th, 2016_

_Cairo, Egypt_

_14:55:03_

Plainsclothes was the order of the day in Egypt as the first week of fact-finding began. Ash, Tracer and Price set up a command center in the hotel room they were using while Kaid and Pharah set out to dig through Egypt’s populace and uncover what they could. It was for the better, Price reasoned – he, Ash and Tracer couldn’t blend in as well, even _if_ Ash had come from Israel. Though, given her background, perhaps it was better if she didn’t broadcast herself in Cairo.

Cairo’s skyline was an uncomfortably familiar one. It reminded him of waiting in the hotel in Dubai, preparing to kill Makarov with Baptiste in tow. It’d been only two months, but that mission felt like forever ago. He never really had been sure if anyone had buried Baptiste, or if he was just lost among the wreckage of the former crown jewel of Dubai’s towering hotels. Makarov he knew had been buried, cremated more likely, since he had heard the news of Dubai police cutting him down.

“Price?” Tracer’s voice brought him out of memories of the past. New job, new day, same old routine.

“Yeah? What is it?”

“Uh, Pharah just texted us. She said that nobody really wants to talk about Shrike. Lot of people seem to be afraid of them.”

He furrowed his brow. “Of us, or Shrike?”

“Shrike, sorry.”

Price rubbed his chin, heading over to the map that Ash had brought with them. There was a certain pattern to Shrike’s attacks, he could tell it, but what that pattern was remained to be seen. If there was one thing he knew about people like Shrike, it was that they had a routine. There was a method to Shrike’s madness, a ritual they had to hold to. After all, Price had the same thing when he hunted Zakhaev and Makarov. Damn near counted every bullet he had seven times over.

“So, either Cairo’s willing to protect Shrike, or they’ve got the people in fear,” Price speculated. “Either way, I’m not a fan.”

“I reached out to some friends with the police here,” Ash said. “Shrike is good, _very_ good. No brass at any potential shooter locations, no sign anyone’s been there that shouldn’t be.”

Pictures dotted a corkboard that showed scenes of Shrike’s assassinations. Lot of open areas, places for snipers like Price to have a field day. Talon was brazen, but not stupid – why would they move their higher-ups in the open like this? Something didn’t make sense. Further scenes showed bombings and reported break-ins suspected to be Shrike’s work.

“Shrike might not be using typical sniper locations,” Price said. “Any marksman worth his salt isn’t sticking his barrel out a bloody fifth-story window.”

“Should we consider an insider?” Ash asked.

“If there was an inside man, Talon would have shut him down after the first kill,” Price said, shaking his head. “Shrike is smart. He’s got Talon’s number, and I’m willing to bet they’re not thrilled about that.”

Tracer’s phone buzzed, and with a tapping of keys later, she cleared her throat to speak again. “Uh, Pharah says they think they found someone that might want to talk. Some sort of black market fellow.”

“Have them bring him in,” Price said. “Might as well chase rumors at this point.”

Tracer relayed this to Pharah and Kaid, reporting that they were going to convince them to come to the hotel. With luck, this fellow could lead them somewhere. If not, well, then they’d waste a bit of time. Ash sighed, looking upon the board and tracing lines with trails of red yarn and push pins. Price also returned to studying the board. These sites had something in common, but what was it?

“We should see if we can get out to these scenes,” Ash said, holding her fist to her chin. “Maybe if we can see these for ourselves, we can find things the Egyptians missed.”

“Or intentionally looked over,” Price muttered. “Talon might want to sweep it all under the rug.”

“You really think so?” Tracer asked, sliding her phone into a pocket.

Ash nodded, still staring at the board. “If what Pharah said is true, Talon’s got a good hold over the police and government. It’s a wonder that the Army hasn’t conducted a coup.”

“Could be that the Army’s got some Talon in it too,” Price said. “Can’t rule anything out.”

Pharah and Kaid soon arrived with the black market contact in tow, a man who only spoke Arabic and eyed Price, Tracer and Ash distrustfully. It had been a while since he used Arabic, but he could tell he was withholding something. There was just something about the way he evaded direct questions and deliberately kept Shrike on a long leash with pronouns that gave him pause.

«“Hold up,”» Price said after a few minutes of conversation. «“You’ve met Shrike, haven’t you?”»

«“I have,”» the man said. «“What does it matter?”»

«“Then you know what they sound like. You know if it’s a man or woman, so why are you saying ‘they?”»

The man paused, his eyes growing wide as he realized he had been caught. Either he was lying about meeting Shrike, or he was trying to protect them. Price wasn’t sure which option was worse.

“Do you think we can trust him?” Pharah said, switching back to English.

Price rubbed his chin, sighing heavily. “I don’t know. Keep pressing him. Shrike buys ammo from him, so I want to know what he knows.”

Kaid turned back to the man, interrogating him about his dealings with Shrike. They always bought 20-round boxes of 7.62 NATO ammo, paying a premium for Italian surplus ammo and replacement Zeiss optics. So, clearly a long-range marksman, with an eye for quality. Must have preferred Italian rounds because of the minimal manufacturing flaws and lower pressure compared to cheaper boxes from Ethiopia, Egypt and Indonesia.

Further talking proved pointless. The meeting place that their inside man met Shrike at for their deals constantly changed, the contact information he had was different each week and delivered via dead drop, and to top it off the black marketeer believed Shrike used some kind of voice modulator to speak to him. There wasn’t anything else they could find from him – time to travel to the sites.

* * *

Kaid (15:55) - I haven’t heard from you in some time. Is everything alright?

Ana (15:57) - **Been busy. My apologies, Kaid. How is my Fareeha?**

Kaid (16:00) - She is well. Very much invested in her new work. She has grown since being at The Fortress.

Ana (16:05) - **That’s good to hear. Have you passed along my letter?**

Kaid (16:10) - I did. I wish I had better news for you.

Kaid (16:11) - She believed it was a fake written by someone else.

Ana (16:27) - **That’s unfortunate.**

Ana (16:35) - **I don’t suppose you can tell me where you are now?**

Kaid (16:37) - You know I can’t.

Ana (16:40) - **Yes, you’re right. My apologies.**

Ana (16:44) - **I’ll be going dark soon. I’ll talk to you later.**

* * *

The truck pulled up to the first site, a ruins near the Nile that looked like it hadn’t been touched since the 19th century. The blood still stained the ground, and it was as if the footprints on the ground had never been carried away with the wind. To the casual observer, this scene of untouched chaos told a story of someone whose life had come to a sudden and violent end.

But to Price, this place told a story few would ever hear. The story of a sniper, who was doing the sort of work few were brave enough to do themselves. The buildings tall enough to provide a good enough vantage point were few and far between, and any half-decent security team would check them first before moving out. So either the target’s security team was distracted, or they were second-tier sort of folk. If Price knew anything about Talon, he knew that they weren’t shy about getting the best of the best for security.

So, it begged the question. Talon had sway almost everywhere. The bodies told the only story he needed to know – former special forces operators from France, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Vietnam, hell even the United States and United Kingdom were on Talon’s payroll. People that Price thought would never fall prey to Talon’s stories and propaganda took it hook line and sinker. Maybe it was inevitable – with Overwatch collapsing, the civil war in Russia turning into a Talon proxy war, and chaos consuming the world, maybe Talon offered safety and security that nobody else could offer.

Either way, they’d have to take a lot more time to analyze this scene and learn what it was telling them.


	2. Ask the Experienced

“What’s this scene tell you?” Price asked Ash as she knelt down, looking at the various shoeprints.

“This crew is experienced,” Ash said. She pointed to a series of footprints that looked different from the others. “They were approaching from the ruins. I’m willing to say there’s a vehicle over there.”

Price looked up, tracking the path the Talon team had taken. Might have been out here on the promise of a buy or something. But why would they be out here? How could Shrike lure them out here?

“This blood is strange,” Kaid said as he observed the scene. He had his hands behind his back, as if he were inspecting the troops rather than investigating an assassination.

“What makes you say that?”

Kaid gestured to the blood pool with a swagger stick that he had produced from his back pocket, tracking the line between it and flecks of blood that dotted the sand. “All the buildings are to the south or southeast, but this blood tracks to that same direction. How is that possible?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Price said. “Shrike didn’t use those buildings.”

Tracer looked around, confused. “There… there aren’t any other buildings around, though.”

“So if Shrike didn’t use those buildings,” Ash said, “where did they shoot from?”

Price took another look at the surrounding area. No hills nearby that’d offer an elevated position. Anyone with functioning eyes would have seen a shooter standing on the ground. This only left an unorthodox position to shoot from.

“What time of day was this reported?” Price asked.

Ash stood tall, opening her memo notepad. “1900 hours. Well after dark.”

“So, Talon was working in darkness, as per usual,” Kaid said.

Price scanned again. Whoever was doing this had to be skilled, but he was well aware of that already. This was someone so well-trained, so committed to their goal of taking down Talon, they’d be willing and able to make any kind of impossible shot. He pointed to a broken wall within the ruins, with a large fascia on top of it. “Look there. Think our shooter could have made himself a perch?”

“Could be,” Pharah said. “If he can fly. There’s no way up there with that wall in the shape it is.”

“Maybe not,” Kaid said, a sly look in his eye. “Lead by example, and the mountain will move.”

Pharah smiled, nodding. “You said that all the time at the Fortress, sir. Forgive me, but I do not think that applies here.”

“You would be surprised.” Kaid headed over to the ruins, inspecting it with the same scrutiny Price believed he utilized against his students. “After all, Lieutenant, is it not the power of belief that brought you to where you now stand?”

“I don’t get it,” Tracer said flatly.

Kaid ignored her, continuing to search the area. After a while, he stopped, looking up with a smirk on his face. “There is a ladder here,” he called out. “Shrike must have used it to climb up to the wall.”

The image was coming together now. Price could see it in his head – Shrike climbed the ladder, lured Talon here, took the shot, and escaped before they could search the area adequately. Unorthodox, but it got the job done. Kaid found no evidence of a spent casing at this scene – Price speculated that Shrike used a bolt-action rifle and made sure to collect his brass – and so they opted to head to another Talon assassination scene, intent to find more.

As they headed back to the truck to head for the coast, Price spotted Kaid pull out a cell phone and start to text someone. He couldn’t help but wonder who he was talking to.

* * *

If there was one thing Price knew, it was that no matter how skilled someone was, they would always screw up eventually. It was a reality not even he could escape from – he could count every mistake he had ever made, each misstep, the small errors that kept him up at night. He assumed that for Shrike, working alone on the daily with no backup, each mistake added up. The human mind could only remind itself of so many things at once, after all. Bound to be a forgotten step somewhere.

At this assassination, it proved to be the smallest possible thing. This one had been in broad daylight, at a sleepy coastal town that proved unwilling to talk to them about anything related to Shrike, but as always, there were secrets hidden underneath the surface. Whispered rumors that people believed Ash and Price couldn’t hear told tales of an enigmatic figure that protected the people, even in spite of Talon’s interference. The southern regions of Egypt were almost entirely under Talon’s control, especially the further they got from Cairo.

The people spoke of a Shrike that, more often than not, killed Talon agents that tried to intimidate and coerce the villagers into helping them. It was almost like Shrike was two different people – on one hand, he was a cold-blooded assassin, but on the other, there was a heart to him that showed a wealth of compassion. Price couldn’t quite reconcile the difference these two images caused in his mind.

But Shrike’s mistake was not in being kind. It was leaving a single casing behind. Egyptian police had either missed it, or did not care to do anything other than clear the blood away. The spent casing didn’t tell them anything about the weapon Shrike used, other than it was 7.62x51mm NATO, which they already knew. But, what it _could_ tell them, if Shrike had been sloppy enough, was who Shrike was. With the day over, they headed back to Cairo to collect their intel and decide upon a new angle of attack.

* * *

Unfortunately, the casing proved to be a dead end. Shrike had been good – the Spanish-made rifle cartridge had no fingerprints, but was completely smooth and clean. Shrike must have cleaned the rounds before loading them in and used gloves when handling ammunition. All well and good as a forensic countermeasure, but it showed them to be empty-handed as per usual. The clues were coming, but they were mere crumbs as part of a larger trail. Price began to feel as if he was an ant missing the massive sandwich right in front of him.

So, time to reorient. Take stock of what little they had learned. Admittedly, it wasn’t much – the black market contact still refused to make a claim as to Shrike’s identity, and aside from bullet-buying habits, there was little he could give. The obvious gambit was to set up an ambush for Shrike at a buy, but Six was insistent that they seize the initiative and find Shrike before they struck again. Killing Talon was all well and good, but wouldn’t it be so much better if Shrike was helping _them_ take out Talon?

The knowledge gained at the two assassination sites they had visited proved fleeting as well. They knew Shrike was unorthodox in his methods, improvising when the obvious would get him killed. And yet, the kindness and generosity he showed – local schoolchildren reported getting sweets from him when he climbed past their windowsills – seemed at odds with his grim mission.

Pharah concluded they were obviously missing something, an assessment that Ash and Kaid agreed on. Price, along with Tracer, felt that perhaps a new look was necessary, a different angle that they hadn’t considered before. They were looking to the past to find answers about the future, but what good would that do them? The past could only tell what Shrike did then, not what he was planning now. Price believed that they would be better suited to thinking like Shrike did. Shrike obviously wanted to dismantle Talon’s operations in Egypt piece by piece. Where did that start? Where did it end?

Therefore, Price and Tracer began looking at patterns. Each assassination and bombing that was connected or attributed to Shrike was examined. Several were discounted by virtue of not matching the profile or methods, but slowly a better picture formed. Shrike had started low, identifying the local leaders and then murdering them to force Talon to show up with more important people. Somehow, even the mercenary known as Doomfist visited Egypt, almost as conspicuously as a high-ranking member of Talon could show up.

Curiously, though, Shrike did not dare to take a bullet to him. In fact, for the week Doomfist was in Egypt, Shrike was uncharacteristically silent. But why? What could have caused Shrike to remain in the background as one of the best possible targets for destroying Talon from within passed him by? It made sense once they saw Doomfist’s bodyguard contingent. It included the world’s deadliest Talon operative next to Reaper; Widowmaker.

So, whatever it was – fear, inadequacy, risk of capture or death – Shrike was unwilling to engage Widowmaker. That told Price far more than any tour of a crime scene would. Logically, then, if Shrike was not willing to kill Doomfist at this moment, perhaps a Talon operative with a little less protection was on the table.

Rainbow’s surveillance had identified several of interest, and two had already been killed. That left four others scattered across Egypt. Pharah and Ash decided it would be best to venture to one of Shrike’s more infamous kills – the broad daylight assassination of a government official in the middle of Cairo.

Shame nobody knew the minister was working for Talon.

* * *

Kaid (11:27) - Do you remember when we took that vacation on the coast in 1982?

Kaid (11:29) - I was there yesterday. Even after all these years, it’s lovely.

Ana (11:35) – **Yes, I remember it well. I saw you in Cairo earlier, you know.**

Kaid (11:37) – And you didn’t even say hello to me? I’m offended.

Ana (11:40) – **You know how it is. I was busy on an errand, and you looked rather busy yourself.**

Ana (11:42) – **I didn’t want to disturb your day. Had that look on your face.**

Kaid (11:45) – What look?

Ana (11:46) – **Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what look.**

Kaid (11:49) – I know not what you speak of, my dear.

Ana (11:54) – **You charmer.**

Ana (12:22) – **I had a thought the other day.**

Kaid (12:25) – Dangerous, that.

Ana (12:26) – **Old soldiers like you and I, they say they don’t need us anymore.**

Kaid (12:29) – So they say.

Ana (12:32) – **Why do you think they spend so much on us, then? For pensions and retirement.**

Ana (12:33) – **Not that I get any, of course, with the world believing I’m dead.**

Kaid (12:40) – I would wager when you find the answer to that, you will have wealth flowing your way.

Kaid (12:43) – Unfortunately, I must go. You know I’ll always respond when I have time.

* * *

Cairo’s government plaza was stocked to the brim with activity. Government officials were locked in impromptu meetings, merchants handed out unsolicited samples of their wares, and, curiously enough, the air was heavy with tension. No doubt the Talon-aligned members of government still feared another Shrike attack. Egyptian Republican Guard members patrolled the plaza decked out in heavy armor and rifles, on edge for anything that looked out of place.

Like the other two sites they had visited, the band learned much about Shrike’s thinking and operations from this scene. Such a high-risk venture demanded detail and accuracy, not just in shooting but in selecting a spot to shoot from. Reports claimed that Shrike had struck when the minister was leaving for the day, so logically it concluded that Shrike had spent a long time observing him, figuring out his schedule and routine. This couldn’t have been a spur-of-the-moment assassination.

The buildings no doubt did not contain evidence of Shrike by now, either cleared for other purposes or cleaned up by Egyptian police as they investigated the shooting. After all, for all of Talon’s worth, not even they could pressure the police to not investigate the murder. The potential shooting positions were numerous, ranging from the tall office buildings to overly expensive condos and apartment rooftops. Any one of them could have been Shrike’s hiding location while he watched and waited, seeking the perfect moment to strike.

With such a high-profile target and operating zone, Shrike had to have a good escape plan. Like before, this couldn’t have been something figured out on the fly. This was methodical, planned, finely tuned to a degree that Price hadn’t seen out of anyone – operator or not – in years. This was something that had been carefully planned. It betrayed a level of Shrike’s thinking, that he planned these to the finest detail.

Granted, any decent assassin, whether for hire or working for a government, took these same steps. What it told Price was that Shrike had to have some sort of official experience, but did that experience come from working with Talon, or did he come from the military? The speculation was interesting, but ultimately worthless. Until they found something to connect Shrike to a name, a real name, there’d be no way to find out for sure.

The excitement around the capital was interesting, but with the real evidence locked behind police warehouses and military facilities not even Pharah could get them access to, the time came to head back to the hotel. As Kaid, Ash and Pharah each retired to their parts of the rooms, Price found himself alone with Tracer for a change.

“You haven’t been too talkative lately,” Price said.

“Oh, yeah, sorry,” Tracer said quietly. “Uh… I’ve… I’ve been thinking about Baptiste a lot, I suppose.”

Name felt like a lifetime ago. But, in reality, Price knew that it had only been a few short months since Baptiste, Tracer and Price had hunted down and murdered Makarov, taken his cruelty and insanity out of the world. He knew that the shadow of Baptiste still haunted them, much like Soap’s shadow haunted Price.

“It’s been rough, this past year,” Price muttered.

Tracer sighed, taking a seat on the nearby couch, staring at Cairo’s skyline that was lit up in the night. “I just wish he could have seen this,” she said. “I know he wanted to do good things.”

“I’m sure. He had a good heart, good head on his shoulders.”

“That doesn’t feel like enough,” Tracer replied solemnly. “I’m thinking I shouldn’t have accepted this after all.”

“What?” Price asked, furrowing his brow as he sat down next to her. Her face had all sorts of pain and consternation written across it. This must have been taking an even worse toll on her than he thought.

“I had – _have_ – a lot of friends in Overwatch,” she explained, avoiding his eyes. “I never really figured out who was left and who… well, you know.

Price nodded, sighing. “No, that makes sense.” He wrestled with the words in his head, trying to figure out how best to go about phrasing what he wanted to say. May as well go with the direct option. “I know you struggle with it. It’s hard to do this sort of work and not lose friends along the way.”

“Is that what we call it?” Tracer asked, scoffing as she smiled. At least her sense of humor was still intact.

“You can talk to me anytime, you know that, right?”

She paused, staring at the floor for a few moments. Eventually, she nodded and sighed heavily. “I know. I… I think I should go to bed. I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?”

“See you then. Have a good night, Tracer.” He watched her head to her room, the door squeaking shut as she closed it. Hopefully, tomorrow’s venture around Egypt would give them a clue to bring them closer to Shrike.


	3. Fruit of Silence

“I have good news,” Pharah announced. “I think I know who Shrike is targeting next.”

“Quite the revelation,” Price said. “Where’d you get that?”

“We’re not the only ones looking for Shrike. My unit has been tracking him for some time, and they intercepted potential radio traffic from Shrike. He’ll be moving against a Talon operative this week.”

Ash nodded, impressed. “Do we know when?”

“No, but we have a where,” Pharah said, moving to the map. She pushed a red pin into it, marking the outskirts of Cairo. “There’s a Talon operative known as Abdul Hakim who has been operating a crime syndicate undetected for years. He has a compound here that they believe Shrike is going to attack.”

“Let’s get eyes on it then,” Price said. “We’ll have to blend in as best we can.”

Kaid rubbed his beard. “Lieutenant Amari and I can form the ground team. Captain Oxton can perform aerial recon, perhaps, while you and Ash watch from a distance.”

“Helicopter operations might be a no-go,” Tracer said. “Egyptians are pretty picky about who flies where.”

“We can decide that when we get there,” Price said. “Let’s arm up and move.”

* * *

The car was quiet as they drove to the outskirts of Cairo. Pharah and Kaid had opted to rent a second vehicle, hoping to blend in with Talon’s vehicles by arranging for a black SUV for their use. Ash, Tracer and Price took the vehicle they had rented upon arrival in Egypt, storing rifles and body armor in their car that they’d put on upon arrival. Egyptian trucks and cars passed them by as they drove, with Ash in the driver’s seat and keeping her focus on the road.

“So,” she said, clearing her throat. “Think Pharah’s intel is solid?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Tracer asked, staring out the window as the desert passed them by.

Price sighed, hoping Ash would notice the car behind them that looked incredibly eager to get into the passing lane. “Pharah herself said Talon’s got their eyes everywhere. I’m sure they’re not thrilled we’re going after Shrike. There’s always a concern that they’re sending us into a trap.”

“Something’s just off about this,” Ash muttered. “Why would Shrike go after this guy, _now?_ This doesn’t feel like Shrike.”

“Maybe he’s feeling the pressure,” Price speculated.

Ash said something under her breath, turning onto the regional loop road that surrounded Cairo. It’d take a while before they got to their destination, time to focus on the mission ahead. Ash had a point, though – the intel was strange. Price mused over it as they traveled, with the only real source of conflict being the joking argument Ash and Tracer had over what radio station to listen to.

Eventually, they reached the observation point that they had decided upon. Hakim’s compound wasn’t too far away, about 400 meters by Price’s estimation. He had opted to bring an L115A3 sniper rifle, while Ash strapped a G36C to herself with an accompanying FBI standard plate carrier. On the other hand, Tracer stuck back to the same weapon she had used so long ago on Operation Kingfish. He remembered the list of items they needed when departing, and thus knew that Pharah had opted to bring along a Russian-chambered Beretta ARX160. Kaid decided to pack an AUG chambered in 9mm, preferring the maneuverability it offered in favor of stopping power.

Ash parked the car out of sight, distributing weapons and armor to those who needed it. Price covered himself with an impromptu desert ghillie suit, aiming to keep himself protected from the elements. Tracer decided to join him in observing Hakim’s compound, while Ash maintained comms with Pharah and Kaid. Shrike was meant to strike at any point, but when was totally unknown. Price settled in for what would undoubtedly be a long stakeout.

* * *

Ana (18:33) – **I wish I could say hello to you. It’s been too long since I heard your voice.**

Kaid (18:35) – Likewise, but you understand how it is. Operational silence.

Ana (18:40) – **Unfortunately so. Still near Cairo?**

Kaid (18:44) – You know I can’t tell you. I’m risking a lot just by using my phone, honestly.

Ana (18:47) – **That’s fair. Still, it would be nice to hear you again.**

Kaid (18:50) – I know. Maybe one day we can catch up.

Kaid (18:53) – Morocco is lovely this time of year.

Ana (19:00) – **So it is. We should make plans to go there one of these days.**

Kaid (19:04) – I can show you the Old City – not the tourist part, the real side of it. The part I grew up in.

Ana (19:07) – **That would be lovely. I never went when I was with Overwatch.**

Kaid (19:10) – Yes, unfortunate that.

Kaid (19:13) – You know, you’ve been asking me where I’ve been, and yet, I think you’ve only told me once for yourself. I know you were in Cairo the other day – are you still there?

Ana (19:16) – **Not quite. I wish I could tell you, but you’re safer not knowing.**

Kaid (19:20) – I thought I was supposed to be the cryptic one here.

Ana (19:25) – **I wish I could explain more, but I can’t right now. Please be safe. I need to go.**

* * *

_October 16 th, 2016_

_Somewhere west of Cairo_

_11:26:09_

“We have movement,” Pharah reported. Price sighed, taking the scope up to his face and looking out to Hakim’s compound, watching a series of black SUVs approach. A group of people got out, a mix of people from all walks of life. Black, white, Asian, man, woman, the inconsistency was telling. Talon was truly global, and this squad-sized element proved it. Price hovered his scope over each person, trying to figure out if he could place any of them. Thankfully, none of the boys from Hereford were among the faces here.

However, one face did stand out to him. It was the signature white mask that anyone who had been following the news would know well – Talon’s top operative and world’s most wanted man, Reaper.

“Be advised,” Price said quietly, even though he knew Talon couldn’t hear him, “confirmed visual on Reaper. I say again, visual on Reaper, over.”

“Roger that,” Kaid said. “We are ready to intervene here.”

“Wait one,” Ash advised. “No eyes on Hakim or Shrike.”

The Talon operatives looked bored, like they were waiting on something that’d never come. Maybe they were hoping Shrike would come too, like some sort of perverse Santa Claus that delivered death instead of presents. It made sense – why would Reaper be here if not for Shrike’s threat, after all? Price listened to Ash shift in the dirt next to him, no doubt readjust the binoculars in her hand. Somewhere up in the sky, Tracer had managed to get permission to fly, running a route that was comfortably unpredictable to ensure Talon wouldn’t grow too suspicious.

The front door to Hakim’s compound opened. A man with suspicious eyes and far too much product in his hair stepped out, gesturing wildly to the Talon operatives. Must have been Hakim.

“One contact,” Ash reported. “Do we have confirmation that’s Hakim?”

“Wait one,” Pharah said. Price could do nothing but keep his scope over him, watching the Talon agents secure the area and start to move. “Affirmative, that is Abdul Hakim. Any sign of Shrike?”

“Nothing on our end,” Price said. “Tracer? What about you?”

The sound of whupping blades and heavy engine noise filled their headsets. “No sign up here! Guess Shrike’s really good at hiding, huh?”

“Or he’s not here,” Ash muttered.

Wind was picking up. At this distance, even a small gust of wind would throw any shot he took wide. Shrike seemed to excel at long-range shooting like this – if he was in play, where was his perch? Where was he watching all this from?

“I have sight on Reaper moving into the compound,” Tracer reported. Must have gone inside with Hakim. The compound looked well-protected against sniper fire, replete with windows that even a highly-skilled marksman like Price would struggle to send a bullet through. If Hakim was smart – which Price suspected he was – then he’d be in an interior room with no windows, or at least out of a sightline.

Time seemed to go by slowly. Talon secured the compound, taking up positions at the entrances and scanning for potential incursions. Standard operations, the sort of protocol Price expected out of any well-trained unit. The excitement of the initial arrival faded quickly, replaced by a dull sense of complacency as the day began to pass. Price kept his scope on potential targets, mentally categorizing each one as he observed them.

“No sight of Shrike,” Pharah reported.

“He may not appear today,” Kaid speculated. “It would be very risky with Talon here and alert.”

Price sighed, stretching out his fingers as he adjusted his grip on the rifle. Minor scope movement, not something to worry much about. The Talon soldiers just beyond the pass looked bored. They were overly relaxed, not at all like people who feared a sniper that had so far knocked out every target he had gone against.

“Price,” Ash said quietly. “Reference the two palm trees, and look to the right. Am I going crazy, or is there something there?”

He swung his scope over to the palm trees, furrowing his brow. Didn’t look like much was there, but… _wait._ No, he saw it now. A man in a blue balaclava, some sort of prototypical goggles on his face, with a leather jacket outfitted with a basic black carrier rig for magazines and a knife. Looked like any operator he’d be familiar with, were it not for the stark red “76” that was emblazoned on his back as he turned to check his six.

“Team, be advised,” Price said slowly. “We have a confirmed visual on Soldier: 76.”

 _“What?”_ Kaid asked. “Shrike was supposed to be here, not Soldier: 76.”

“Fuck,” Ash muttered. He heard her start to maneuver her rifle around, moving it in a better position in case they needed to move quickly. Price watched Soldier: 76 begin to move, nearing a wall and checking the corner. He was intending to move in – what the hell was he doing here? How had he even gotten the intel for this?

“What’s the plan here?” Tracer asked. “We didn’t exactly expect him to show up!”

“Maintain the course,” Price said. “He doesn’t know we’re here. If Shrike shows up, maybe they’ll all kill each other for us.”

Before anyone could even react, a shot rang out. That wasn’t from any of them, and even Soldier: 76 seemed surprised. A Talon operative fell back, blood spilling on the wall he stood behind him. Chaos ensured as Soldier: 76 took the opportunity to engage with Talon, trading fire with them.

“We’ve got shots fired,” Pharah reported. “Should we move in?”

“Negative, negative,” Price said.

“Let them fight it out,” Kaid said. “This is not our war.”

Price kept his breathing steady as he watched Soldier: 76 and Talon exchange gunfire. Tracer reported that Reaper had made his way out, but the question of who fired the inciting shot still remained unanswered. Until Shrike revealed themselves, all they could do was observe.

Price watched the shootout rage, with Reaper and Soldier 76 now engaging in a one-on-one fight. Shrike had to be somewhere – after all, Talon didn’t shoot on their own men to start this fight – and so he began to scan, looking for a potential sniper.

“I’ve got a visual on Shrike, I think!” Tracer reported. “He’s on the roof of the compound!”

Odd place for Shrike to be. Price turned his attention to the roof, watching a figure move along the crown of the roof’s fascia. Tattered cloak, strange mask, and a semi-automatic rifle with a quality scope. That was definitely Shrike.

“Confirmed visual on Shrike, good eye Tracer,” Price said.

“It’d be easy to take the shot now, Price,” Ash said quietly.

He ignored her, watching Shrike suddenly take an interest in the fight that was ongoing between Reaper and Soldier: 76. It looked like he was debating who to help, until he started to land shots near Reaper. The sudden introduction of Shrike to their fight threw Reaper off-balance, but the gunfight between them as a whole seemed to be ending quickly. Talon was on their way to reinforce, and Hakim was nowhere to be seen.

In a flash, Shrike had descended from the rooftop, engaging on the ground with Talon as he closed the distance. Bloody maniac was going to get in a melee with these people. He watched Shrike knock Reaper on the ground, straddling him with a pistol to his face. Shame he couldn’t see who was behind Reaper’s mask – Shrike had managed to knock him behind a door that stopped Price from being able to see. Whoever it was, it seemed to have given Shrike pause.

With the chaos slowing down, Soldier: 76 grabbed Shrike and began to run. Why were they disengaging here? It didn’t make sense. Reaper grabbed his mask, firing at them as they bolted.

“Bravo 2, Soldier: 76 and Shrike are on the move,” Ash reported. “They’re heading your way, foot-mobile, over.”

“Understood,” Pharah said. “We’re on the way.”

“We’ll maintain overwatch on Hakim’s compound,” Price said. “Tracer, help them keep an eye on Shrike and Soldier: 76, will you?”

“Got it!”

Price watched Reaper stop, lowering his shotgun. If he had been closer, he was sure that he would have heard Reaper sigh in frustration. Pharah and Kaid reported that Soldier: 76 and Shrike had taken control of a motorcycle, driving to evade them as they pursued. Talon began to calm down, returning to their previous positions minus a few members as a result of the shootout. Hakim seemed to settle in with Reaper, fearful of another attack.

Two hours later, Kaid reported that they had lost track of Shrike and Soldier: 76.


	4. Arrogance is a Weed

The appearance of Soldier: 76 had changed a lot. Perhaps more interesting, Soldier: 76 and Shrike apparently worked together, or at least weren’t on “shoot on sight” terms with one another. Understandably, this caused them to reevaluate some aspects of their working theory on Shrike’s attacks. Perhaps not all of Shrike’s attacks were purely because of Shrike. Maybe Soldier: 76 served as a distraction on some of these assassinations, a convenient target to focus on while Shrike went to work.

And yet, that didn’t quite seem to gel with the evidence they had gathered. Price’s personal observation of Shrike showed that he was a loner, the sort of operator that only worked alone unless it was absolutely necessary. It made sense – why rely on others to provide a distraction when the best distraction was ensuring the target had no clue what was going on? And if the two were working together, why was this the first confirmed sighting of Soldier: 76 outside of North America in two years? If Soldier: 76 had helped Shrike before, wouldn’t they have heard about it? Shrike’s attacks were quick, methodical, the sort that left only his intended target dead with minimal other casualties – when Soldier: 76 went to war against Talon, he showed no mercy.

Kaid and Pharah stood in front of their board, now with fuzzy surveillance pictures of Soldier: 76 joining it with more questions than answers. They had missed something, surely – a place, a name, even something as small as a pet. There had to be some clue to Shrike’s identity that they were missing.

“Perhaps we are approaching this problem in the wrong way,” Kaid speculated. “We’ve spent so much time chasing Shrike, but to what end?”

“We tried it the other way,” Pharah said. “We looked to the past and found nothing. Shrike just appeared one day without warning, and disappears just like that today.”

Both had a point. This contest between looking ahead and looking behind was why Tracer had opted to keep to the air, flying around the area that they had lost Shrike and Soldier: 76 in to see if she could trace possible escape routes. Their escape was hasty, unplanned – it seemed as if Shrike hadn’t expected Soldier: 76 to appear, and that had changed his plans. If his plans had changed, maybe Shrike had done something wrong, taken a wrong step. At this point, it was the only option they had. Information on Shrike was fleeting, and with Talon firmly in control of Hakim’s compound, the only potential leads they had were drying up quickly.

“I wish we could have taken the shot,” Pharah said. “We had a perfect opportunity.”

“Couldn’t risk it,” Price said, lighting up a cigar.

Pharah sighed, shaking her head as she continued to puzzle over the red lines and scattered pictures. “That doesn’t mean it was the right call.”

“Six wants Shrike’s experience in fighting Talon,” Ash said, shrugging. “We do what Six asks, Lieutenant. You know that.”

“Maybe Six doesn’t always know what’s right,” Pharah replied, narrowing her eyes. “Authority has been wrong before.”

Ash’s chair screeched back as she stood up, her hands planted firmly on the table. “Don’t blame someone who isn’t here. _We_ let Shrike go, understood? All of us sat back and watched Shrike slip out of our grasp.”

“More like _you_ did,” Pharah shot back, turning to face her. “Kaid, Tracer and I pursued. You and Price sat behind your scopes and looked.”

“Alright, you two,” Price said, tapping away ashes. “We can’t bloody change what happened. We’ve got to keep moving to find Shrike before he attacks again. He’s bound to know _someone’s_ on to him, even if it’s not us specifically. So, if you’re Shrike, what’s the next move?”

“Hide the hell out,” Ash muttered. “It’s too hot to do anything right now. May as well let some of the heat fade away.”

Kaid’s phone buzzed, and he excused himself to answer it. Must not have been Tracer – she had a direct radio line to them. Pharah and Ash both focused back on the board, speculating on potential hideouts in different areas of Cairo’s outskirts. Pharah believed Shrike preferred the desert, while Ash asserted that he would seek shelter in the city.

“Oi! I’ve got a possible site for Shrike!” Tracer reported over the radio. “I can see the motorcycle he used to get away!”

Time to move. Ash reminded them that it was possible Shrike had dumped the bike and ran elsewhere with Soldier: 76, but the opportunity was impossible to pass up. They had to act on this, and now. Even if Shrike had just abandoned his vehicle to go to a secondary site, being able to find something was better than nothing else.

* * *

Kaid (11:26) – You’ve been quiet lately.

Ana (11:28) – **You’re not blameless either.**

Ana (11:30) – **My apologies if I’m slow. I have an old friend over for the day.**

Kaid (11:32) – I’m close, but not that close. I hope you have plenty of tea for them.

Ana (11:38) – **I thought you couldn’t tell me where you were?**

Kaid (11:40) – On the move again. Hunting dangerous prey today.

Ana (11:50) – **You’re slipping. What happened to operational security?**

Kaid (11:53) – Perhaps I’m willing to bend the rules for one of my favorite snipers.

Ana (12:28) – **And yet you never took me up on marksmanship lessons.**

Kaid (12:30) – Because I know you hate to teach an unwilling student.

Kaid (12:35) – I will talk to you later. I must go.

Ana (12:35) – **You’re only unwilling because you’re as stubborn as that mountain you preside over.**

Ana (12:36) – **Stay safe out there.**

* * *

Tracer had picked them up in her helicopter, intent on utilizing a quick infiltration and escape in case unfriendly Egyptian police responded to their planned raid. Price could already feel the tension rising in the team – all of them wanted a good capture/kill on Shrike, didn’t want to even think of letting him escape. Everything had to go perfectly for this raid, and they were well aware of it. Shrike had been tracked to a small office building, seemingly abandoned save for the signs of Shrike’s residency there.

“What’s our plan heading into this?” Ash asked, checking her full magazine. “Knock or no-knock?”

“No knock,” Price said. “We don’t want to give Shrike an advantage.”

“We’ll have to move quickly,” Pharah noted. “We should identify the exits before moving in.”

Kaid nodded. “Helpful, but it may take too long. If Shrike expects us, we need to move right away.”

They neared Shrike’s hideout, a simple two-story building that looked like it had been forgotten about entirely. The motorcycle Price had spotted the other day was here, along with blood. Soldier: 76 must have been wounded during the firefight. Ash deployed a small drone, a French production of a prototype one of the GIGN agents had developed. With it, Ash declared the first floor clear, and tracked Shrike down to exactly one room in the building. Time to move.

They landed nearby and deployed to the ground, moving swiftly but silently. Shrike had to have heard the incoming helicopter and suspected something was up. Entrance was quick as well, with multiple open doors. Even though Ash’s drone had showed no contacts, they still methodically cleared each room filled to the brim with dusty old chairs, broken desks, and stacks of paperwork that no longer had purpose. After all, Soldier: 76 could still be around, and they didn’t want to be ambushed by him today.

“First floor clear,” Ash reported. Tracer remained in the sky, watching for Shrike to possibly leave just in case he had heard them and decided to run. Price led the way up the staircase, his M4 aimed at any potential threat that hid in the shadows. Together, the team set themselves up to breach as Ash raised her grenade launcher up.

“In position,” Price whispered.

“Breaching,” Ash said. A mere squeeze of the trigger later, and a M120 CREM round slammed into the wall that Shrike was hiding behind. Another second later, the breaching charge exploded and gave them a new hole in the wall, allowing a swift entry into the room with Shrike. Price and Kaid headed in first, with Ash and Pharah right behind.

“On the ground!” Ash shouted as they headed in. Typical FBI procedure. She couldn’t seem to shake that.

A flurry of follow-up commands – such as for Shrike to remove his helmet and drop the rifle – filled the air as they surrounded Shrike. No sign of Soldier: 76 aside from a bloodstained mattress and the remnants of bandages. Shrike held his hands above his head, slowly moving to take his helmet off. Short white hair soon spilled out, and as the helmet was flipped over, Price realized he recognized the face behind it, save for the eyepatch – that part was new.

Who knew Ana Amari, the woman who was supposed to be dead, was Shrike?


	5. Company of Liars

Ash stood silently, no doubt wondering why nobody was helping her arrest Shrike, also known as Ana Amari. She dared to take her eyes off the surrendering sniper, glancing at the confused operators around her. “What are you _doing?”_ she asked. “Why aren’t we moving to arrest Shrike right now?”

“Hold on that,” Price said, lowering his rifle.

“What?” Ash demanded. “We have Shrike _right here._ Why the hell are-”

“Lower the bloody rifle, Specialist,” Price ordered. “We need answers. Amari, how the hell are you alive?”

Ana lowered her hands, sighing heavily. “I suppose there’s a lot to discuss, isn’t there?”

“No!” Ash said. “Is this a joke? Our orders were to capture or kill Shrike, not talk to them!”

Kaid walked to stand in front of Ash, lightly pushing down her rifle as he solemnly shook his head. “Today, orders do not matter. This is a day of discovery for us all.”

“Sir, with all due respect, what the fuck are you talking about?” Ash asked. “Lieutenant, please tell me he’s making sense to you.”

“I… I don’t think anything is making much sense to me,” Pharah said, slowly backing out of the room. “I think I should go.”

Ana reached out to her, almost uttered something, but the arrested plea seemed to disappear whole as she caught herself. Kaid led Ash off to another part of the warehouse, no doubt to try and find a way to reason with her. Price sighed, slinging his rifle to his side and lighting up a cigar as he gestured for Ana to take a seat.

“Right,” he said. “So, I’m going to ask you again. How the hell are you alive?”

She looked down mournfully, running a hand through her hair. “I have a lot to atone for, Price. I’m surprised to see _you_ here, though I suppose we’re both equally surprised.”

“Eight bloody years. Whole world thought you died. _I_ thought you died.”

She sighed heavily, nodding. “For a while, I did. I was in a Ukrainian hospital with no idea who I was, and missing an eye. It took a long time for me to remember what had happened, and by the time I did… well, the world had moved on without me. _You_ had moved on without me. The news had told me Overwatch was dead, and… that seemed an appropriate time for Ana Amari to die as well.”

“You’ve missed a lot.”

Ana chuckled, but it was not a laugh borne out of amusement. More out of anxiety and ironic acceptance of the facts than anything else. “I can see. Soap’s outside, isn’t he? Waiting for the all-clear before he comes in?”

Now it was Price’s turn to sigh heavily. He took a long drag on his cigar, watching the smoke billow and dance as it faded away, almost like he could watch Soap himself fade out like he had in some forgotten Czech back alley. “No,” he said flatly. “Soap’s gone.”

“What?” Ana’s face twisted as she blinked rapidly, trying to reconcile what she had just heard. “I… I’m so sorry, John. I had no idea. How-?”

“Makarov.”

“So then Dubai was _your_ work. I… I heard about that. I actually had plans to kill him here, Makarov had a compound he used from time to time. If…”

“Nevermind about that,” Price muttered, tapping away ashes. “Let’s get back to it. You know why we’re here?”

“I believe your Specialist said enough. ‘Capture or kill Shrike,’ was it?”

Price nodded. “Rainbow wants you on the team, or at least helping find Talon. If that’s not an option…”

Ana smiled, shaking her head. “Don’t you know, Price? I’m a criminal.”

“Welcome to the club. Rainbow isn’t terribly concerned about that if you want to do some good work.”

Ana slowly blinked, avoiding Price’s gaze. “I like to think I’ve already _been_ doing good work. What will Rainbow change?”

“You get what you need, when you need it. Don’t need to muck about underground.” Price said, shrugging. “Wetwork’s wetwork no matter who you’re working for, or _not_ working for in this case, I suppose. We could really use you, Ana. You’ve got a good lead on a lot of Talon agents down here.”

“And you have my daughter who refuses to believe I exist,” she said solemnly. “You have her. I don’t need to fight for Rainbow.”

“But we don’t have your intel, your know-how,” Price said, dragging a seat over and sitting on it. “There’s a lot to think about, I know. Lot of worries. Six wouldn’t ask for you safe and sound if she didn’t think you’d say no.”

Ana sighed, resting her head on her hand. “Price, I’m not blind. I know what Rainbow is meant to do now.”

“The goal’s still to take down Talon,” Price said.

“And find what’s left of Overwatch along the way.” Ana retorted. “I’m not a fool, Price. You didn’t come here because you thought Egypt was a nice vacation, or because you believed I was Talon. You came here because you believed Shrike was a former Overwatch agent, and… you were right.”

Price nodded, puffing away on his cigar as he blew the smoke away from Ana’s face. “You’re right about all of that. If I’d have known you were around, I’d have taken my bloody time finding you. Given you time to make an escape.”

“Prepared Fareeha for seeing her dead mother again?”

He paused. “Maybe. The world’s moved on since 2008, you know.”

“As if I need a reminder. All anyone can talk about is that general and Makarov these days. People fear Talon, Price. They think that Talon’s everywhere.”

“They may as well be.” Price muttered. “If you’d have been there, you’d have backed me up with Shepherd.”

Ana scoffed, shaking her head. “I’m not so sure.”

“You’ve got an eye for people, and sussing out when they’re lying to you,” Price countered. “It’s a skill I picked up, too.”

“I haven’t lied to you today, Price.”

“No, you haven’t,” he said. “But someone else has. We’ll deal with that later, though. Right now, I can see I’m not going to convince you about anything. So, let’s have a talk. You’ve got me here, it’s been bloody years. So let’s catch up, shall we?”

Ana smiled, nodding. “Yes, it’s been a very long time indeed. If I didn’t think your Specialist would charge in and shoot me, I’d make some tea.”

“She’s one hell of a fighter, I’ll give her that.”

“Where is she from?” Ana asked. “I heard hints of an accent, but she sounded American.”

“FBI SWAT. From Tel Aviv, according to her dossier.”

Ana nodded, impressed. “That’s a long way from home.”

“She’s willing to do anything to get the job done. Reminds me of a few people.”

“You charm me,” Ana said, laughing. “Well, I know you’ve had your fun in Dubai. What else did you do while I was gone?”

Price sighed. “Well, wouldn’t you know it, we had the same sort of situation, Ana. Talon captured me after Kingfish, stuck me in a gulag off near Vladivostok. Soap, Reyes, and… back then, Blackwatch, got me out just in time to watch Shepherd betray us.”

“Reyes helped you?” Ana said, surprised.

“Bloody had a shotgun to my head. I suppose I earned it – I had one of Soap’s men at gunpoint.”

Ana laughed again, nodding. “That _does_ sound like our Gabriel Reyes. How did Shepherd betray you? I only heard he worked for Talon.”

“He led us into an ambush. Wanted to start a war between the US and Russia, get himself a hero’s welcome. Killed nearly everyone in that task force, lot of good men and women. That was about when the news about Overwatch broke, and then… well, I don’t know if you’ve heard it, our pilot Tracer helped us track down Makarov and kill the bastard.”

Ana nodded, smiling at the mention of Tracer’s name. “So, then Makarov killed Soap in Dubai. It makes sense.”

“No,” Price said flatly. “Soap… Soap died before that. He never got the pleasure of seeing Makarov beaten and broken.”

Ana’s brow furrowed. “But… the report said two men assaulted the hotel, then who-”

“His name was Baptiste,” Price said. “Jean-Baptiste Augustin. He’s got a story of his own, but I’d rather let Tracer tell you about him. He was more Tracer’s friend than anything.”

She paused to contemplate this, before finally nodding. “I see. Well, I suppose you’re curious about what I’ve been doing.”

“Maybe a little,” Price said, tapping away ashes. He took another good drag as Ana prepared to start talking.

“After they let me out of the hospital, I tried the retirement idea. But you know how it is, Price. Breaking Talon is much better than a cabana on the beach. So, I sought out some known friendly contacts and got back to work at home. I came back here to find Talon in everything, and I couldn’t leave that kind of country for my Fareeha.”

“Sounds noble. Why’d you keep yourself from her?”

Ana paused, her mouth agape as she tried to find an answer. “I… I tried to make contact with her. She didn’t think it was really me. I suppose I should have expected it. After all, I had spent years telling her not to join the military, and then she goes and does it anyway. Who would think that someone so against that would sing the praises of her achievements in a letter after her reported death?”

“Where’d you get your guns from? The intel?”

Ana smirked. “A woman always has her secrets, Price. You should know that.”

“Sometimes secrets need to come out. _You_ should know that.”

“I honestly can’t tell you even if I could. There’s too much at risk. As far as intel, I still know how to watch people, Price. My skills in surveillance and listening didn’t go away just because I got shot.”

A knock came at the hole in the wall. Price stood up, spotting Kaid on the other side and expectantly waiting for him. He headed towards him, turning the corner as Kaid leaned in close. “Ash will come around in time. I would like to speak to Shrike alone.”

“Alright,” Price said. “She’s being dodgy, so good luck.”

“Six wants her in the group,” he said. “I’ll do my best to convince her if you haven’t already.”

Price nodded. “Like I said. Good luck.”

* * *

Kaid sighed as he entered the room, Price’s footsteps fading away behind him. “Hello, Ana,” he said softly. “It’s been too long.”

“It has,” she said, sighing as well. “I didn’t think our reunion would go like this. Did you tell them?”

In a split moment, Kaid’s heart skipped a beat as the realization dawned on him. No, no he had _not_ told the team that he had been texting Ana Amari all this time. He had not told Fareeha that he had a direct line to her mother. He had not told Price that the texts he got could have led them to Shrike’s position.

“No,” he said flatly. “I did not.”

Ana nodded slowly. “You should do that.”

“You should have told me that you were Shrike.”

“Would you have believed me if I said I was?”

Kaid pursed his lips as he swallowed hard. “I don’t know.”

“Then you know why I was never truthful with you.”

He tilted his head, cocking an eyebrow at her. “But why? You told me to help you make contact with Fareeha. I kept tabs on her for you. So why is it now that you say you could not trust me? Because that’s what you’re telling me when you say you couldn’t tell me you were Shrike.”

Ana nodded again, sighing heavily. “I didn’t want to hurt you, Kaid. If you knew what I was doing… well, I know you would have come to help me.”

“Is that a problem?”

“Not ordinarily,” she confessed. “But this was too dangerous.”

Kaid stroked his beard, rubbing his chin along the way. “So… what? You thought it was better to hang around wanted terrorists than rely on an old friend? Did all the work we did together mean nothing?”

“You don’t know all the details-”

“I saw Soldier: 76 on the back of your bike. I watched you help him up and whisk him away. From the blood, I know he was here. So I can conclude either you were working with him, or-”

“Like I said,” she said. “You don’t have all the details, Kaid.”

“Then tell me what they are.”

Ana paused. “I can’t.”

Kaid nodded, shifting uneasily in the chair he had taken a seat in. “You understand our orders. You know we need to either bring you in, or kill you. I’d rather not do either of those things, but the choice has to be made. Ana, I have helped you many, many times over our long history together, but I can’t help you forever.”

“I understand,” she said. “I can’t work for Rainbow unless I know what is going to happen. Overwatch left me in the dark for too long, and I can’t let that happen again.”

“You think we’ll find old friends.”

“I _know_ you will. Reinhardt… Reinhardt is still out there. J-” She caught herself, clenching her fists as if she was intimidating something away. “I know I have old friends out there. I don’t want to see their names come up on the kill list.”

“That may not be possible.”

She nodded. “I know.”

Kaid’s mouth twisted as he bit the corner of his mouth. “Well, what would you need?”

Ana looked up at him, her eye full of forlorn hope and depression. “I don’t know.”

“I see,” he said, standing up as he slowly walked out of the room. “Well, I hope that whatever your fate may be, it is one that brings you peace.”


	6. Striking Cold Iron

There had to be a logical reason for this, Fareeha thought. Surely, there was some sort of rational, human explanation for why she was suddenly face-to-face with her supposedly dead mother. She had been sitting on the balcony attached to the office building for what felt like an eternity, watching the sands of time and winds of the desert pass by her. So far, Ash, Price and Kaid had left her alone, leaving her to stew in her emotions.

After all, she had only rejected that her mother had even been alive for eight years. Refused to acknowledge even the possibility she had survived. What sort of cruelty was that, for her to subject her mother to that? And yet something nibbled at her. Fareeha had grown up being told grand stories of Overwatch’s glory days, of the good they had been doing, and the beautiful adventures that she and the people she knew had gone on. But when the time came for her to join the military, when she told her mother she wanted to join Overwatch, the tune changed. All of a sudden, it was a mistake, a gross misstep in her life.

Fareeha could hear boots behind her. She knew these well – Kaid was heading towards her. He sighed as he leaning against the railing, taking in the same scenery that Fareeha was. “You should talk to her, you know,” he said.

“Why?” she countered. “What can I get out of that?”

“When you came to the Fortress, you were an angry woman, seeking an outlet for your own self-destructive habits,” Kaid said. “I have watched you grow into one of the strongest cadets and best operators to ever leave the Fortress. Your mother deserves to see that change.”

She sat there, staring out at the world as if the sands of the desert would give her guidance. “And you think I can learn something from it?”

“You can always learn,” he said. “That is the benefit of your elders. We know more than you think.”

“Maybe you are right,” she said, nodding. May as well get up, see if something could change. Kaid still stood there. Perhaps the desert was telling him something. Or, maybe more likely, she was assigning wisdom to something that simply existed. Some days, it was hard to tell. With heavy shoulders, Fareeha headed inside, hearing Ash and Price talking quietly in the corner. Neither of them spotted her heading into the room where her mother was, still peacefully sitting in a chair as if nothing war the matter.

“Hello, mother,” she said, sighing as she sat down opposite of her. “I… I guess there’s a lot to talk about, huh?”

She smiled, nodding. “There is. I wish I could have been there for you, Fareeha.”

“Do you?” Fareeha asked. “I remember when you left for Ukraine, you told me I was making a mistake with my life.”

Her mother nodded solemnly, avoiding her gaze. “I did, didn’t I? There is much to atone for, and I can only hope that what I have done has made up for even part of it.”

“Do you really think that this is the way?” Fareeha shifted about in her chair, hearing the floor creak and groan with every movement she mad. “Look at what’s been devoted to finding _you,_ stopping _you._ All of these people – myself included, mother – could be working to find _real_ threats, to stopping Talon.”

“I see Kaid instilled many of his ideals in your head while you were under his care,” her mother said, smiling knowingly. “To answer your question, yes, yes I do think this is the way. Talon has taken hold here, Fareeha, and I think you know it in your heart.”

Fareeha furrowed her brow. Something wasn’t right. “How did you know I was at the Fortress?”

“You learn many things when you work with people like Kaid,” she said slyly. “You should know this, being in the commandos.”

“I know that Kaid doesn’t release names of people who went to the Fortress. So tell me, how did you know _I_ was there?”

Her mother sighed. “You should ask him. It is not my story to tell.”

“I want to hear it from you.”

“And I won’t answer for him,” Ana said flatly.

Fareeha narrowed her eyes, trying to judge whether her mother was lying to her or actually being truthful. If she had spent the past eight years with her, maybe she could tell by now. Or, maybe she never could have known for sure. There was deliberate subterfuge going on here, and Fareeha wasn’t sure whether or not her mother was the primary source of it. “Alright, then,” she finally said. “Why did you hide from me after all this time?”

“I never hid,” she said, shaking her head. “I had Kaid give you the letter I wrote to you.”

“I thought it was a fake. How could I have ever believed it? But why not keep trying?”

Her mother laughed. “Would _you_ keep trying to talk to someone if you never heard back from them?”

Fareeha pursed her lips. “I suppose not.”

“You must understand, Fareeha, I only wanted to protect you-”

“From what?” she demanded. “What could you possibly want to protect me from?”

“Your wanted criminal mother?” her mother countered. “What do you think would have happened if I had not kept myself away?”

“I don’t know,” Fareeha said. “I just… I don’t understand.”

Ana sighed, shaking her head. “Fareeha, you have grown into a strong and powerful woman since I left you. I regret what I told you on that day, and even though I told you all of this in my letter, I think you need to hear it from me. You have not yet needed to burden the weight of lives taken, but I cannot possibly ask you to. I don’t _want_ you to. You have a choice, my dear, and this life is one I wish you would leave to me.”

“This is not like all those years ago,” Fareeha said. “Overwatch is gone. Talon’s far more dangerous than anything else, but you don’t have to fight them anymore.”

“You never had to fight them in the first place. Let Rainbow do their job.”

Fareeha sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “We _would_ be if you weren’t so stubborn, mother.”

“This stubbornness is what made sure I survived,” she countered. “I wish I could make you understand. I really do.”

Unfortunately, she understood all too well. Her mother would not go quietly into the night, whether they had to kill her or take her in. But what sort of monster would she have to be, to murder how own mother in cold blood? Fareeha couldn’t possibly do such a thing, or stand by quietly and let someone else do it.

“Maybe if I had told Kaid earlier…” her mother muttered.

“What?” She had caught herself, brushing it off like it was nothing, but Pharah knew something was the matter. Something wasn’t right here. “Mother, what do you mean?”

Her mother sighed, shaking her head. “He should have told you. I certainly didn’t know, but we’ve been talking to one another these past few-”

“I need to talk to Kaid,” Fareeha said, standing up and leaving without another word.

* * *

Price had just lit another cigar when Pharah exited the room, marching straight up to Kaid and staring him down. For his part, Kaid stood as stoically as he always did, as if he had expected this to happen. “How long have you been in contact with my mother?” Pharah demanded.

“Well, I had the letter she wanted you to-”

“Yes, I know about that,” Pharah said. “When were you going to tell us that you knew she was Shrike?”

 _Well, this was new,_ Price thought as he could barely stop his eyebrows from jumping up. Time to see how Kaid would play this – was this a betrayal innocent in nature, or sinister?

“You have to understand,” he said. “I didn’t know she was-”

“Was what? Hunting down Talon? Evading us? Where do the lies end with you, Kaid?”

He gripped his cane, no doubt trying to quell his own frustration. Looked like he had dealt with this attitude from Pharah before. “I didn’t know she was Shrike. You _must_ believe me. You _all_ must believe me. I kept operational security intact, and I did not once betray who we were looking for.”

“Alright, I think I’ve heard enough,” Ash said. “How’s about this: we go in there, _right now,_ and arrest Shrike. We bring her in, like we said we would, and if she resists? I’ll put the bullet in her myself.”

“You are _not_ shooting my mother,” Pharah said, her hand hovering over her sidearm.

Price sighed, tapping away ashes as he stepped in between them. “Let’s all take a step back. We’re not bloody shooting her, or bringing her in. Ana doesn’t want to work with Rainbow unless she has assurances, but we can’t promise those things. Until we _do,_ she won’t join us. Kaid, I’d waged that the plan here is to tell the truth – Shrike got away from us.”

_“What?!”_ Ash shouted. “Captain Price, all due respect, are you _fucking_ insane?”

“That… would be for the best, I believe,” Kaid said, nodding.

“Ash, you’ve got to learn some days, orders don’t have to be strictly held to,” Price said. “Thatcher should have taught you that.”

Ash blinked, shaking her head as she walked away. “Just know _my_ report will have the _actual_ truth, not the bullshit you’re trying to peddle on Six. She’ll see right through all of you.”

Price smirked as he took a long puff of his cigar. “On the contrary,” he said. “I think she’ll agree with us.”

Kaid excused himself to appraise Ana of the situation, as they began to gather up their arms and exfiltrate with Tracer waiting. Ash continued to grumble, but like Kaid said, she would come around in time. Fifteen minutes later, they left the compound, with “Shrike” having escaped their grasp today. Maybe next time, they told themselves. Maybe Six would be open to negotiate on some things. Whether or not anyone would convince either woman to compromise remained to be seen.

* * *

Ana (23:14) – **I’m sorry I let it slip out. About you being in contact with me.**

Ana (23:15) – **I’m usually much better about that.**

Kaid (23:17) – We all make mistakes sometimes. I’ve made many myself, I’m sure you know.

Ana (23:20) – **Do you think your decision today was a mistake?**

Kaid (23:24) – I don’t know yet.

Kaid (23:25) – It’s better to have that knowledge out, though. As they say, the rope of lies is short.

Ana (23:38) – **Please let Fareeha know she can talk to me at this number any time. I would love to hear from her.**

Kaid (23:40) – I’ll do so. Good hunting.

Ana (23:42) – **If you come for me again with a kill/capture order, don’t think I’ll miss just because we’re friends.**

Kaid (23:44) – I would never dream of it.


End file.
